Jubilant staff at Hucknall Leisure Centre are celebrating after achieving the top banding score for customer service – putting the facility in an elite set of centres nationally.

The leisure centre, run by Everyone Active in partnership with Ashfield District Council, was rated 'excellent' following Quest Prime Assessments.

Quest is a continuous improvement tool for leisure facilities and sports development teams and is managed by Right Directions in partnership with Leisure-net Solutions, on behalf of Sport England.

In securing an 'excellent' banding score, the centre earned a spot in the top five per cent of centres that have undertaken the Prime Assessment module.

The venue, popular with the public due to its swimming pool and state-of-the-art gym facilities, scored highly in many areas within the mystery visit and formal assessment elements.

These included Covid-related protocols and management, cleanliness, customer and community engagement, swimming lessons, staff professionalism, effective HR practices, social media delivery and environmental management.

The assessment also acknowledged the success of Everyone Active's phased reopening, as part of a four-stage road map. The reopening strategy helped to get the centre back on track, quickly and effectively.

It turned out to be a double success for Everyone Active as Lammas Leisure Centre, in Sutton-in-Ashfield, also secured the top banding score.

Everyone Active's regional contract manager, Simon Fearn, said: "We are delighted with the outcome and believe it is nothing more than the centres and their teams deserve.

"The centres are evolving and improving despite the impact of the pandemic, and since reopening post-lockdown we've received a fantastic response from our members.

"We're pleased to see so many new and returning members at our sites, with activities such as swimming lessons and fitness sessions performing to near pre-pandemic levels."

Development work at Lammas and Hucknall forms part of an overall £20million investment into new and existing sites across the district by Ashfield District Council and Everyone Active. This includes a new £15.5million facility in Kirkby, which is due to open next year.

Mr Fearn added: "The Quest scheme is very customer focused and high-end facilities alone will not result in an 'excellent' banding being secured.

"This is only achieved through a strong team of staff consistently delivering high standards of customer service to the local community."

Councillor Rachel Madden, Cabinet Member for Leisure, Health and Wellbeing, said: "It is fantastic that Lammas and Hucknall Leisure Centres have achieved top scores.

"We have some of the best leisure centres in the area and with major improvements under way at Lammas and Hucknall, facilities for residents have never been better.

"Congratulations to all the staff at Everyone Active for achieving these top scores."